What are Data Center Network (DCN) Testing Best Practices?

The crucial nature of testing the success of any data center initiative is widely recognized, but all testing is not created equal. Proper testing is required and is a critical element of ensuring this success. The set of industry best-practices described below were identified and defined after numerous data center testing engagements, across lines of business and around the globe, by Spirent’s team of Professional Services engineers.

The data center testing best practices are:

#1: Vendor Performance Testing—Assure through real-world testing parameters that all network devices perform in conformance with claims represented in vendor collateral or by company representatives.

#2: Network Failure Threshold Testing—Establish the point at which a network fails within real-world applications and user bandwidth before launch.

#3: Configuration Defect Testing—Integrating a diverse array of component devices and applications into a unified architecture may cause unforeseen issues that, without testing properly, could result in network failure.